onfocus

washington post : 100,000 Rally, March Against War in Iraq : "Tens of thousands of people marched in peaceful protest of any military strike against Iraq yesterday afternoon, in an antiwar demonstration that organizers and police suggested was likely Washington's largest since the Vietnam era."

El Capitan is a huge wall of granite in Yosemite Valley. This weekend we hiked a little ways up from the valley floor so we could get a better look at it. Beyond the view of El Capitan looking up, we had a great view across the valley:



As we were enjoying the view and studying the giant rock, I saw something unusual but had an idea what it might be. Some binoculars confirmed it: it wasn't a bird or a strange rock formation, there were people climbing the sheer face. We kept tabs on their progress for a few hours, as we could see them from anywhere on that end of the valley. It was windy at times when we were surrounded by trees, and I can't imagine what it must have been like for them exposed on a cliff face.



We eventually left, so we didn't get a chance to see much of their descent. But at times they were swinging what seemed like fifty feet back and forth as they descended. To get a feel for what their view and ascent must have been like, check out the photos that go along with this article. crazy. (I think the climbers we saw were on a different path.)

half dome

A few months ago I knew that SQL Server had some XML features built-in, but hadn't yet taken the time to look under the hood to figure it all out. (And the MS docs leave something to be desired.) Then I got a chance to be a technical reviewer for a book called SQL Server 2000 XML Distilled. I came up to speed very quickly as I read about the thinking behind the XML features and tested all of the example code. The book is out now, and I just got a copy in the mail the other day. It looks great, and I'm looking forward to re-reading it in its final form; and having it handy as a reference.

The book has nine authors, and I was one of thirteen technical reviewers. I'm amazed that projects with that many distributed people involved can work out so well, but the folks at Curlingstone are on top of things. The only drawback was the schedule. Curlingstone is located in Scotland, and the reviewed chapters were always due on their Monday morning (my Sunday night, around 1am). Being a procrastinator, I had some late Sunday nights as I finished going through chapters.

The soundtrack for this week has been DJ Shadow's The Private Press.

Lots going on offline. And I'm going to be offline all weekend. The blog suffers.

I'm reading The Power of Nonviolence, a birthday present from skp. Sometimes I don't realize how much the news wears on me. Reading a book like this helps put things in perspective and gives me hope. Here's a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay War:

"War and peace thus resolve themselves into a mercury of the state of cultivation. At a certain stage of his progress, the man fights, if he be of a sound body and mind. At a certain higher stage he makes no offensive demonstration, but is alert to repel injury, and of an unconquerable heart. At a still higher stage he comes into the region of holiness; passion has passed away from him; his warlike nature is all converted into an active medicinal principle; he sacrifices himself, and accepts with alacrity wearisome tasks of denial and charity; but, being attacked, he bears it and turns the other cheek, as one engaged, throughout his being, no longer to the service of an individual but to the common soul of all men."

I can't stop thinking about this paragraph since I've read it. It's counter-intuitive at first glance. And definitely counter to current world events. What does it mean to evolve?

Two of my friends named Aaron make up two legs of a musical tripod called Marianas. They have sounds posted on their new website that you can download and enjoy.

John Perry Barlow, Internet pioneer, has written a state of the nation from his perspective. It was prompted by last Thursday's vote:

"Despite a deluge of calls, letters, and e-mails, which Capital Hill staffers admitted ran overwhelmingly against the ludicrously-named Resolution Authorizing the President to Use Force, if Necessary, to End the Threat to World Peace from Saddam Hussein's Weapons of Mass Destruction, Congress extended to George II the authority to make unlimited and preemptive war against another nation that has neither attacked us nor shown the ability or inclination to do so."

In this letter he criticizes the Internet for the all-talk, no real-world action role it plays. And I agree with JPB, "As much as I loathe organizations, we need to organize." [via boingboing]

Bus sign - Corvallis, OR